Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Jim Lucas, a dramatic performer known for his uncanny resemblance to Martin Luther King Jr., will be the featured speaker at the annual Tri-College Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The ceremony, hosted in alternate years by the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta State University and Paine College, will be at noon Friday, Jan. 16 in the Natalie and Lansing B. Lee Jr. Auditorium at the Medical College of Georgia.

Mr. Lucas is an advocate of Dr. King’s philosophy of non-violent action to effect social change and has received national acclaim for dramatic recitations of his speeches. President Bill Clinton called him “the most authentic and exhilarating King I have ever seen.”

Mr. Lucas has been a guest speaker for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City and the National Baptist Convention. He has performed at more than 100 colleges and universities and throughout Germany, Japan and South Korea. His resume also includes television and film appearances in Ladder 49, Something the Lord Made, The West Wing, 24, The Wire and The District. He is currently co-starring in The Meeting, a play about the lives of Dr. King and Malcom X.

The annual Tri-College Celebration will also feature performances by choirs from all three institutions.